THE CONSTRUCTION OF TIME

Shannon Walsh / sm2002 / Spring 2015School of Creative Media, City University Hong Kong

CLASS 3

• Parallel Editing

• Temporal Ellipsis

• Temporal Expansion

• Parallel editing or "cross-cutting" means "two stories told simultaneously with inter-cutting

Alfred Hitchcock, Strangers on a Train (1951)

Parallel action is a powerful technique because it invites the viewer to draw thematic connections or make other kinds of comparisons between the areas of actions.(Hurbis-Cherrier, 2007, pg. 75)

Temporal expansion: stretches out time, and is the opposite of temporal ellipsis; examples are evident in Serge Eisenstein's classic Potemkin, Kevin Kostner'sTin Cup, andSilence of the Lambs.

Explosions, falls, and fights are often juiced up with temporal expansion, but such are often ridden with clichés.

Elliptical editing or temporal ellipsis means "omitting part of an event," and almost all editing is in fact elliptical.

Fades often signify "temporal ellipsis"--a break in time going forward, while dissolves often signify flashbacks or suggest future action (Casablanca).

Swish pans (flash pans, zip pans, or "wipes") are used to signify a series of events--as in the "marriage sequence" in Citizen Kane.

Sometimes elliptical editing is combined with dialogue to create a long break in time, as in the famous sentence in Citizen Kane that begins "Merry Christmas. . . and ends twenty years later. . ."and a Happy New Year."

THE BIRDS (1963)

Graphic & Temporal Relations: Fire scene

THE BIRDS (1963)

Graphic & Temporal Relations: Fire scene

TEMPORAL ELLIPSIS

MALTESE FALCON (1943)

What happens when the cut only happens for a change of scene?

Film grammar is disrupted when we cut less because we are use to quick cutting and a certain

language of cinema

http://www.fandor.com/blog/daily-venice-toronto-2013-tsai-ming-liangs-stray-dogs

• Action Continuity Assignment Workshop & Shooting